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Text of Drone Resolution(s) Passed in Amherst, Mass.
ARTICLE 36: I move that Town Meeting endorse Article 36 as two separate resolutions as they appear on the screen.
1. WHEREAS, the use of drones, often referred to as Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), raises far -reaching concerns about targeted governmental killings, the loss of constitutional protections, privacy, democracy, and the rule of law,
2. WHEREAS, drones now being marketed to domestic law enforcement agencies, potentially could be armed with weapons, including tear gas, rubber bullets and firearms,
3. WHEREAS, drone technology as a means of data collection has the potential for misuse affecting individual privacy and civil liberties, freedom of association and assembly, equal protection, and due process,
4. NOW, THEREFORE; BE IT RESOLVED, that this Resolution declares that no agency of the town of Amherst, nor any agents under contract with the town, will operate drones in the immediate airspace over Amherst in a manner that violates the constitutional rights of its residents,
5. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town of Amherst affirms that within the town limits, landowners and tenants, subject to state laws and local ordinances, have exclusive control of the immediate reaches of the airspace and that no drone, unmanned aircraft, or other airborne object shall have the “public right of transit” through this private property.
1. WHEREAS, drones have been used intentionally to kill people in foreign lands including at least two American citizens, without a
public judicial process,
2. WHEREAS, such a use of lethal force without due process is a misuse of governmental powers specifically prohibited in the United States Constitution,
3. WHEREAS, drones have killed many non-targeted people including children,
4. BE IT RESOLVED, that the town of Amherst request its representatives, Congressman Jim McGovern and Senators Elizabeth
Warren and Edward Markey, to introduce a resolution in the United States Congress to end the practice of extrajudicial killing by armed drones, to specifically withhold money for that purpose, and make restitution to those who have been killed or injured through the actions of the United States government, the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency, and their private contractors.